R&B music was one of the genres that definitely was very much talked about within this year. Many artists released what may go down as very iconic albums this year. Some of those artists are Chloe x Halle, with their Grammy-nominated album ‘Ungodly Hour‘ and The Weeknd who even broke a Billboard Charts record with his hit single ‘Blinding Lights‘. Even Monica and Brandy came together to do the popular virtual event ‘Versuz‘ where they played their best hit songs for viewers on Instagram. The R&B genre continues to grow with new and old faces pushing out good content, but it’s always nice to add some new faces to your playlist. Here’s a list of underrated R&B artists that you should check out.

Pink Sweat$

With his signature pink photoshoots, Pink Sweat$ admired music at the age of seventeen. Some of his inspirations being Prince and Michael Jackson. Starting his music career after a three year battle of Achalasia, he produced songs for artists such as Florida Georgia Line and Tierra Whack. He hasn’t released any albums yet, but his three EP’s are worth the listen. His first EP Volume 1′has his debut single “Honesty”, which charted at No. 10 on Spotify’s US Viral Chart. His song “At My Worst” is currently popular on Tik Tok as it’s used for Tik Toks showing off couples that are in love.

Alina Baraz

When she moved to Los Angeles at age 19, Baraz didn’t know her music career would go far. Her music career starting when she wrote a song over Danish electronic producer Galimatias instrumental. Which led to her collaborating with the producer and releasing her first EP Ultra Flora Which gained many positive reviews and her first Billboard entry. She released her second EP ‘The Color of You’, which charted at No. 59 on Billboard Top 200. It also gave the world her first collaborations with artist Khalid, “Electric” and “Floating“. She released her debut album “It Was Divine” on April 24th, 2020, which she led that album with the single “Morocco” featuring 6lack.

Iyla Blue

Los Angeles native Iyla Blue has been in the music industry for about six years. You may have seen her face in her most popular single with rap legend Snoop Dog, “Walking On Air” when her stage name was Bella Blue. However, many people now know her as Iyla and the singer of R&B’s song “Juice“. With her EP War + Raindrops, it gained her to chart on Amazon Music’s New R&B Artist where she reached No. 9 on the chart. Iyla released her second EP Other Ways to Vent in 2020, which she gained a feature from Method Man on her EP.

Kiana Lede

Kiana Lede started her career as a Kidz Pop singer, which led to many bigger things. Before getting into the music industry, She acted in the TV show Scream where she played the character Zoe Vaughn, but after playing in the horror classic based TV show, she decided to focus on her music. One of her most popular singles that gained her a following, “Ex” was #9 on Billboard’s R&B Charts and it’s also certified platinum. Lede released a couple of EP’s before finally releasing her album. She released her debut album, KIKI on April 3rd, 2020. Which peaked at #30 on Billboard’s Top 200 Charts.

Arin Ray

His career started on the popular singing competition tv show ‘X-Factor’ where he was mentored by pop sensation and icon Britney Spears. He didn’t win the season he was on, but that did not stop him from pursuing his dreams of becoming a musician. He started working behind the scenes in the music industry. He wrote and produced a couple of songs before actually signing with a major music label. Which landed him to recording two EP’s titled Phases‘ and ‘Phases 2. He also released an album titled Platinum Fire. He recently gained some popularity with his collaboration with Kehlani, in their song “Change“.

 

As the year 2020 is coming to an end and many people are posting their Spotify and Apple Music music recaps of the year, it’s not hard to realize that R&B is one of the genres that was very popular upon people’s playlist. These are only five R&B music artists that are underrated and there are many more in the music industry. With 2021 coming up, we don’t exactly know which new R&B artists will be pushed into the spotlight next. However, be sure to be on the lookout for these five talented artists.